Please join South
Korean artist and peace activist Gillchun Koh, Bruce Gagnon, and others on
Monday, April 30, 2012 at 4:00 PM at the Seattle Korean Consulate in a protest
against the construction of a new naval base on Jeju Island.

This naval base is unnecessary, a drain on our economy
($$$$$$$), will destabilize relations (both South Korean and U.S.) with China,
and will put the people of JejuIsland at risk as a strategic target for China.

Please read further
to understand the important history of JejuIsland
as well as the importance of stopping construction of this base.

History (The April
3 Massacre)

30,000 people murdered!!!JejuIsland
is known as the "Island of World Peace," a name that does not begin to tell
the story of the Island's extensive history of
conflict, occupation, repression and genocide. The most horrific episode in
this history began in 1948 when the South Korean military and national police
hunted down and slaughtered approximately 30,000 people. The U.S., which was
the occupying power at the time, did nothing to stop what is now known as the
April 3 massacre.

Why did the government do
such a horrific thing? 1948 was a tumultuous time of establishing two
governments in Korea.
The people of JejuIsland rose up to protest the long-term division of
the nation by boycotting the elections that were occurring in Seoul. For this they were branded as
Communists, and the terror began.

For decades following the
massacre, public discussion of the April 3 massacre was ruthlessly repressed. Following
democratization, the slow and painful process of fact finding and truth telling
began, and continues today. In 2003, South Korean President Noh Moo Hyun
travelled to JejuIsland and officially
apologized.

History Repeats
Itself Today

Now, over 60 years after the
April 3 massacre the people of JejuIsland are once again
protesting. This time they are protesting the U.S. Missile Defense System and a
provocative new naval base being built on their island. Why??? If you look at a
map of JejuIsland, you can see that it lies about
500 kilometers West of China. This military base is intended to project force
towards China and to provide
a forward operating installation in the event of a military conflict between
the U.S. and China.

For five years, South Korean
activists have been protesting the plans for the new naval base on JejuIsland.
During that time the response by the South Korean police and military has
become more heavy-handed and brutal. Col. Anne Wright (former United States Army colonel
and retired official of the U.S. State Department)reported that earlier
this month "police broke arms of activists
who had locked arms inside PCV pipes, beat up activists and threw them from
kayaks."

The last thing the world needs is a
military confrontation between the U.S.
and China.
On that dreaded eventuality, there is no need to elaborate. In terms of its
implications, what is now taking place on Jeju island counts as one of the most
critical struggles against a potentially devastating war in Asia, and the
deeply-rooted institutional structures that are driving the world towards even
more bitter conflict than is raging in all too many places today.

It is important to become aware of what
is happening on JejuIsland and to find ways
to help the residents to prevent this very dangerous and destructive project.
The consequences of losing the struggle to prevent the base construction might
impact not only Asia but the United
States and the rest of the world as well.
The project is naturally seen by China as a threat to its national
security. At the very least, it is likely to trigger confrontation and an arms
race between South Korea and
China, with the U.S. almost
inevitably drawn in.

The immediate threat is to JejuIsland
civilians, whose home was recently described in a South Korean daily as “the
spearhead of the country’s defense line,” a line recklessly located
approximately 500km from China.

We need not speculate about how the U.S. would react were China doing something similar near
its coast.

Join us on April 30th

The situation on JejuIsland
is important not only to its residents, but to us all!

This protest will send an
important message to the South Korean government that is watching to see how
the world reacts to the situation on JejuIsland.

Please join us in
front of the South Korean Consulate at 4:00 PM on Monday, April 30th. We hope to have a massive turnout to send a strong
message that we support efforts at diplomacy and peace and not continuing
preparations for war.

Please
bring your nonviolent spirit, as well as protest signs (we ask that signs be
nonviolent in nature and focus directly on the issues relating to JejuIsland).
Learn more at the Save Jeju
Island website (www.savejejuisland.org).

The Korean Consulate is located at 2033 6th Avenue, Seattle,
WA98121
(between Lenora and Virginia). It is well-served by public transportation, and
there is ample paid parking available on-street and in nearby parking lots.

I
recently met Gillchun, and I am humbled by his deep commitment to peace and
healing of JejuIsland.Bruce Gagnon (Coordinator of the Global
Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space) and I will stand in
solidarity with him on April 30th, sending a united message to the
government of South Korea
(and the U.S.).I hope you will too.

About Me

I am a student and practitioner of nonviolence, working for the abolition of ALL nuclear weapons. I coordinate media & outreach for Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action (www.gzcenter.org), and also coordinate the Puget Sound Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (psnukefree.org) and the NO To NEW TRIDENT Campaign.